Devices for retaining a compact disc or a computer floppy disc have traditionally been constructed at least partially of plastic, and to include paperboard sleeves which obscure all or a significant portion of the disc label. These conventional compact disc holders have the drawback of not being capable of being manufactured substantially entirely by a machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,918 to Dobias et al. recognized the need for a compact disc holder which exposes the non-playing surface of the disc while the disc is in the holder. Dobias et al. further recognized the need to construct the disc holder of recyclable materials (for example, paperboard) rather than plastic, and to automate the fabrication process to reduce the manual labor involved in manufacturing and the corresponding production cost.
As a proposed solution, Dobias et al. disclose a folded container constructed from a single, unitary sheet that includes a panel having two sloped surfaces each with an elliptical cutout. The elliptical cutouts are shaped so that the larger of two arcs of each ellipse is of a sufficient height and size to permit a compact disc to easily drop through at the top of the arc, which is also at the top of the sloped surface, while the descending portion of the same arc decreases in size to snap in to lock the disc in place. The smaller of the two arcs of each ellipse is sufficient to support the disc along its edge without touching a face of the disc. As a result, the panel locks the disc at four points along its outer edge.
It is desirable to form a compact disc holder starting from a single, unitary sheet of paperboard which is initially flat and then folded in a particular manner to permit full view of the disc label while the package is open, and which does not pinch the disc at four points along its outer edge, and which prevents the disc from inadvertently popping out of its retention position.